...
By Natalie Venegas
Weekend Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Amid tensions between Taiwan and China, Beijing's foreign minister warned on Wednesday that Taiwan's independence poses the greatest threat to regional stability.
Wang Yi, a senior foreign policy official for Chinese leader Xi Jinping, spoke about the tensions during a visit by U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to Beijing. The foreign minister said there will be no new action that could escalate tensions with the United States or other global powers.
The ongoing tensions flared in May, when Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te faced China's largest-scale military exercises in nearly two years. It came as a response to Lai's inauguration speech as he asserted that "the Republic of China Taiwan is a sovereign, independent nation," adding it is "an important link in the global chain of democracies." While Taiwan has been independently governed since 1949, China views the island as part of its territory and hasn't ruled out the use of force to unify the nations.
Read More on News
In addition, China has said it would launch a war if Taiwan were ever to officially declare independence. Lai, like his predecessor, former President Tsai Ing-wen, has maintained that there is no need to do so, as Taiwan is already an independent state.
Meanwhile, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency who quoted Wang Yi, the U.S. should comply with Chinese interpretations regarding China and "support China's peaceful reunification."
However, the White House noted that Sullivan emphasized the necessity of preserving "peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait" during his discussions with Wang.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House via email for comment.
...
Sullivan previously spoke about meeting with Wang Yi on Tuesday where he expressed efforts to maintain a good relationship with Beijing.
"President Biden has been very clear in his conversations with President Xi that he is committed to managing this important relationship responsibly," Sullivan told Wang on Tuesday, ahead of their discussion.
The primary aim of Sullivan's visit, which runs through Thursday, is modest—focused on maintaining communication in a relationship that largely deteriorated throughout 2022-23 and has only recently showed signs of recovery over the past several months.
The U.S. is seeking to stabilize its relationship with China, which has been strained by a series of disputes, including trade tensions and China's financial support for Russia amid its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Despite political differences, the two superpowers remain economically intertwined, with a significant number of Chinese nationals relocating to the U.S. for work as China grapples with challenges in its state-dominated economy.
The South China Sea remains another contentious issue, with the U.S. military recently expressing openness to discussions on potentially escorting Philippine vessels through the contested waters. This offer follows an uptick in hostilities between Beijing and Manila over the resource-rich region. Both the U.S. and China have acknowledged the critical importance of maintaining ongoing military-to-military communication, with plans to schedule a high-level phone call between theater commanders soon.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines